Discipline – Can you have more than one?

You will or maybe you already have reached a point when you settle on exactly what body or bodies you own and what lenses have risen above all others to be come your “kit.” Maybe they are zooms. Maybe they are primes. Maybe they are a combination of zooms and primes.

Let me take an educated guess that you either own three prime lenses. Or perhaps three zoom lenses. Or maybe a combination totaling three lenses of both primes and zooms.

While you have two bodies you more than likely will only carry one on you at any given moment and how you carry that one camera will be a personal favorite way. Maybe it is on a neck/shoulder strap. Maybe it is a sling across your chest strap. Perhaps it is a device like a Peak Design clip device that either fits on your belt or bag strap. Or it could be something as simple as a wrist strap.

All that is left now is what are you going to do when you go out for the day to walk through the woods, hang out on the streets, climb a nearby mountain, or simply interact with people you may know or for that matter who you may not know at all. Are you going to take your three lenses and one camera and two batteries, and two extra cards, and some lens cleaning stuff and pop all of that in one bag which could total in weight between 5.5 to 10.5 American pounds or 2.49476 to 4.76272 kilograms. Gee whiz I think I am going to carry kilograms because they numerically appear lighter than pounds.

This is where the word discipline comes in. I have spent a life time trying to discipline myself when it comes to what camera gear goes with me and what stays either at home, in the hotel or in the car trunk as I head out for a wonderful day of photography. I have grossly failed at disciplining myself and because of that I know what I must do. So here is a perfect case of “DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO.”

i have spent enough money on camera bags and straps to feed a small nation of light eaters. Most of those bags are now gone and if I check real quick I am sure I can take ownership of the five bags I still own and can honestly say that I use only two of them. The bags I no longer use are the Billingham (Big Dollar Bags) which I simply do not have the where with all to sell because they are just simply beautiful bags as well as functional in a camera bag way.

What I do use NOW, are two very nicely designed bags. One is the STREETOMATIC PLUS (+) from a company called Cosyspeed. The other is a bag I swore up and down I would no own and it is the Peak Design Every Day Sling.

i am not going to go into a real review about the bags, only because this is more about lightning your load and really taking with you what you will use. Whether it be just a stroll down some city street or a trail through a beautiful park, or more intense, a several mile hike through some rough forest or perhaps a full day traveling the city via local transportation to a variety of locations for image making.

Depending on what you do will determine the kind of gear you need and how to carry it. For my extended day out I am using the Peak Design Every Day Sling and for a simple excursion I use the Streetomatic plus.

The sling is great to work with. I keep the following in the sling bag, which by the way can go across my back, on my shoulder or right in front of my chest. In the bag is:

One Fuji X pro 2, a 50mm 2.0, 35mm 2.0 and 23mm 2.0. 2 batteries, 2 extra memory cards, a camera strap, two extension rings, cable release, a leatherman Juice knife. There is a Peak Design Clamp attached to outside of the bag to carry my camera at the ready and there is a balloon type pocket on the front that opens to store something has big as a large zoom (which I do not carry with this bag) or a water bottle, etc. The cinch straps for this expanding pocket also are long enough to attach a small tripod if needed to the bottom of the bag. With all of this, once it is on my body the weight is so well-distributed that I hardly know it is there.

For my mini excursions I use the Streetomatic plus. It fits nicely around my waist or across my chest and is virtually invisible. It is very comfortable and was designed with mirrorless cameras in mind. In this bag is the following. Fuji X pro 2, 18-55 zoom lens, 35mm 2.0, 2 batteries, two extra cards, Iphone 6 plus. It is a very small kit and a pleasure to carry.